Green Moon

Going deeper into forest near his home because of feelings and other stuff.

Hears growls and yells so he goes further in to help.

Small rocky clearing. There’s an old man fighting 3 wolf things – spiky, purple, slavvery, shadowy. He smacks at them with his stick.

The man is older, bald pate, short white hair with dirty grey. Medium length beard. Big nose with a chunk out of it — old scar. Memorable feature. Wears deep maroon-purple robes with fine trim. A bit fancy.

He grabs something from ground, does something with it, throws it at wolves. It sparks. He tells them to go away and stuff in another language.

3 wolves flinch at the sparks, but recover and look like they’re just messing with him.

Rosco grabs rocks, throws them and screams and waves a stick as he runs in.

Biggest, baddest wolf with a ‘bung-eye’ chomps into old man’s side.

Rosco runs in and screams. Wolves and man stop and look at Rosco.

Bung-eye seems to order the smallest wolf to look after the old man. Other 2 stalk Rosco.

Rosco yells at them to ‘Leave him alone!’ and they seem to hesitate at his words. They try to go at him again but he yells at them again and they seem confused and reluctant, but after more commanding the littlest one leaves, then the others leave.

Rosco goes to old man, who is bleeding out, though a bit hard to see since he has such deep coloured robes.

Old man looks at Rosco and says, ‘Born… of the Green Moon…’ He then grabs something near him and pushes it into Rosco’s hand, to his chest. ‘Keep… safe!!!’ Explosion of light, then old man falls dead, eyes smoking.

Since then, Rosco has kept the stone acorn around his neck, near where the old man pushed it. He doesn’t take it off ever. He placed it around his neck with a leather shoelace he was wearing that day. Rosco took the man’s words as a mission to keep the acorn safe, but sometimes wonders how he got out of there alive. Perhaps the acorn may be keeping Rosco safe… but it didn’t do much for the old man.

Spent last night with Kelly. At 4.30am she kisses Rosco and heads out to work.

When wakes up finds parchment with chicken drawing ‘Gone to work. See you downstairs for special breakfast’. Rosco heads down and breakfast is a good spread with off menu special spiced mushrooms, Kelly’s favourite. Sweet and salty.

Captain Steph asks Rosco to go to Steady to check on them. Haven’t heard from them since recent influx of Pillet refugees. Clear road if needed. She’ll bring supplies later.

Vellop’s wife is a gossip monger with a pigeon, and has heard there’s unrest in Steady because of the refugees.

Rosco: ‘May the sun be with you when you need it.’ Vellop: ‘May the lheat be thick in your fingers.’ They part ways.

Rosco tracks the creature. More heavy footed than Em, but probably same type of creature.

Em is agitated about Rosco tracking the creature.

Rosco tracks the creature to overgrown Pillet.

‘Oh shit!’ A woman bursts out of a side alley on a horse and gallops straight for Rosco. The creature chases behind. The woman yells ‘Run!’ and Em bolts.

Rosco fires an arrow at creature but misses.

Rosco jumps up on horse. Woman says ‘What are you doing??’. Rosco: ‘Running!’

The beast slashes the rump of the horse (caramel with black nose and hooves – very beautiful).

Rosco shoots beast with arrow in shoulder. It slows and stops.

The beast is 1.5 times Em’s size.

Rosco calls for Em and she appears. She and beast look at each other from afar and evaluate. Em roars! (highly unusual). The beast roars, louder and deeper.

Em turns and follows Rosco. Beast limps away.

After more galloping away they slow. Woman checks Rosco out and says flirtily, ‘Hello there.’ Wriggles hips into him as they ride on.

Introductions. Her name is Shiralee. They get acquainted – she’s been appropriating things from Pillet, but won’t sell to previous owners; that’s classless.

They stop and set up camp, flirting.

Rosco tends to Buster the horse’s wounds with poultices and magic.

Shiralee makes a ‘pretty mean stew’ and they eat, chatting. She doesn’t see the appeal of forests. Prefers pampering.

Shiralee thinks Buster is too good and nice, too much a liability because recognisable. Needs to sell.

Shiralee throws a bag at Rosco to take to Steady and give the items inside back to their owners.( Quest). Rosco sniffs it. Shiralee: ’It’s not poop.’ Rosco: ‘How often do you throw poop at people?’ Shiralee: ‘How often do you smell things people throw at you?’ Rosco: ‘Pretty often! Smells like a random assortment of stuff.’ Accurate. They’re sentimental items from Pillet. Giving them out of the goodness of her heart lol.

Em’s lying in Rosco’s lap. Repecka tied by leg.

Shiralee keeps brushing past Rosco.

Then suddenly Rosco feels nature all around him in intimate detail. One with nature even. Naked. But also vulnerable.

Em bolts up and seems to ask, ‘What just happened?!’ though her mouth doesn’t move. Rosco says ‘I don’t know!’

Shiralee asks him what this is — it’s Rosco’s stone acorn necklace. She stole it!

Rosco is confused. ‘My keepsafe!!!!’ and grabs the necklace back.

Shiralee is annoyed that Rosco didn’t play with her to get it back.

She apologises for taking the acorn. But wants to touch it and does. Says ‘Yeah, you shouldn’t take that off. Sorry.’

Rosco thinks that Shiralee may be a kind of opposite to him — not a mundane person.

Rosco wants to know why he shouldn’t take the acorn off, and Shiralee says the person who made that for him desperately wanted to keep Rosco safe. And maybe more than just Rosco safe. She’s knows this because she senses things from things.

Rosco investigates the kidnapping of a Pillet woman by a vicious moving vine

Rosco is about to leave to go to Pillet and investigate the kidnapping of Tan’s mother Beryl the Butcher who was taken by an intestvine from the Encroaching Forest down the ridge. Then the forest took over fast. Also, Tan said that Shep the sheep shepherd went out looking for a lost sheep and went missing previously.

As leaving town, Kelly runs up and, blushing, asks if Rosco can keep an eye out for a red hen called Repecka who she gave to some Pillet kids for a pet.

Also gives Rosco a little baggy of breakfast/lunch — bacon and egg roll with optional side of spinach and mushrooms. And salt and pepper. And a pear. And some kibble for Emerald.

Rosco makes a rope out of vines to get down the ridge because Em can’t find a way down. As they climb down, the rope frays and they fall a bit, with Rosco taking the fall and a bit of damage and they roll down the hill.

Forest of many different trees, ferns, vines, tripping roots, moss on north side. Moist, fecund smells, breeze in upper canopy but still down here. Some red tinged plants around.

Notices suckers at the bottom of the shed’s blood drain are all connected in root/vines which come from further in forest.

Rosco hears something and hides. Repecka appears. Rosco grabs her and puts her in his backpack.

Finds animal bones with remaining flesh of a sheep being eaten by strange flies.

Finds a big, throbbing flower, pulsing bulb, blood swelling through it. Vines like intestines leading to it, entwining around animal carcasses. Skeleton also there. There’s a vine stuck in the neck of a still-alive sheep.

Looks like an overgrown version of a symbiotic flower that normally eats bugs. Perhaps it overate and mutated?

And around the other side, a recently dead person, and a still living person! Beryl!

Mayor Ken Weathersby of Lundy has tasked Rosco with stopping the creature that has been killing chickens, pets, and going through garbage. Been happening since Juris Agramant ordered the militia to burn the forest to stop it encroaching. A mysterious river appeared and stopped the fire burning deeper into the forest. Rosco has tracked the creature to the edge of the burnt forest.

Rosco tracks the creature. Sturdy, low to ground, sharp teeth.
Sees human tracks. Looks like a scuffle. 2 people with the creature.

Follows further to see two town militia (Norman and Karen) fighting a badger thing with bony plates on it.

Rosco hurls himself in front of militia woman as she is swinging axe down on badger. Hurts his shoulder.

Realises badger thing is a baby. Mama will be around!

Tells militia to get up on ridge and goes there.

How to fight? Bins that were overturned didn’t have processed food…

Mama barrels in. 4x bigger. Up to Rosco’s chest. Leaps in front of baby and bellows.

Rosco throws ration packs at her. She doesn’t like them and backs away, but still snarling and scary.